


reminiscence

by Umberknux



Category: Paladins: Champions Of The Realm (Video Game)
Genre: Sentinels!Cassie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2020-01-12 08:44:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18443069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Umberknux/pseuds/Umberknux
Summary: kinessa left the sentinels a while ago, but she's still finding ways to be reminded of them and the impact they made on her life





	reminiscence

**Author's Note:**

> written for sentinels week day 5

A brisk wind cut through the trees, Kinessa pulled her scarf tighter.

 

The material was as soft as ever, excluding some burns around the edges gained after starting a small fire. Which burned a small town. And harmed a small number of people. 

 

But hey, the scarf came out in one piece. 

 

Kinessa was moving from town to town in search of work, dark alleyway pubs she could always count on having one or two sleazy guys looking to settle an old score. Many of them pointed out her past, recognising her as a former Magistrate soldier. She’d never elaborate, just a shoulder shrug and an _“eh, wasn’t really for me in the end.”_

The route she was walking now was very scenic; vibrant trees, neatly gravelled road, and someone had taken care to plant flowers up the sides. Kinessa’s eyes were drawn to a group of orange flowers which stood out among their peers. She crouched down to have a closer look, there was no rush. Someone had worked very hard to keep these in check, and it would be morally wrong to pick them. Though, Kinessa didn’t really follow rules.

 

She was sick of rules.

 

 

————

 

_“KINESSA!”_

 

_The booming voice stopped Kinessa in her tracks. Looking on a ledge above she saw the owner of the voice jumping down._

_“This is the kind of thing which will get you KILLED!” Strix grabbed her by the wrist but Kinessa quickly took it back, scowling all the while. Although Strix was much taller than her, Kinessa stood her ground and threw her weapon to the floor in frustration._

_She was taking part in a training exercise. Instead of staying on her perch and working things out from there, she decided the more effective option was to switch to carbine, jump down, and rush the target. A practice Strix hated more every time he saw it executed, and Kinessa hated his response every time she heard it._

_“Well I’m not dead yet, am I? Is it a crime to do something different? Are you punishing me for succeeding!?” Kinessa spluttered, she waited for a response from her mentor as his eyebrows lowered. “Fucking typical,” She spat under her breath and turned to leave._

_“You said it yourself,” Strix finally spoke, Kinessa looked back over her shoulder, “you’re not dead. Yet. But if you keep acting like this then you will be. Your recklessness gets worse with age, and I don’t know why because you don’t tell me anything anymore!”_

_Kinessa still had her back to him, flexing her fingers in a feeble attempt to calm herself down. She took a breath and turned herself to face her mentor again, “You know who’s also reckless? Tyra. Buck. Viktor. Cassie,” she counted on her fingers then pointed one at Strix, “and you. So could you PLEASE tell me why it’s only me who gets any FUCKING grief for it!”_

_Strix opened his mouth to respond but he was quickly cut off, by a finger jabbing centimetres from his face, “I am SICK and TIRED of you treating me like a kid! I’ve gotten a little too big for the nest, don’t you think?” Strix calmly pushed her hand away and stood for a second in silence. Kinessa’s shoulders rose and fell with her heavy breathing, her attitude was something Strix had become far too used to._

_“You know I’m afraid of losing you,” he said simply, knowing it wouldn’t calm her temper, but it might reassure himself. Kinessa bent down to grab her weapon and Strix spoke again, “you worked hard for that rifle. I thought you wanted to snipe,” Kinessa ignored him, slung her weapon into her bag began to walk away, making sure Strix couldn’t see the angry tears welling up in her eyes. She could feel his gaze burning into the back of her head._

_In a final act of defiance, Kinessa threw up her middle finger as she went._

_————_

The beautiful route to the town definately fit the location itself, the town wasn’t very big, but it was incredibly well kept. Some of the stone architecture looked new even though it was covered with ivy. The sun’s current position in the sky did a good job of bringing out some of the brighter colours. Kinessa made her way towards the town square and saw that one of the illuminated colours was the unmistakable deep red of a Magistrate banner. She flexed her fingers, she didn’t have to waste her anger on them anymore. 

 

A large well marked the centre of the square, it was surrounded with the same orange flowers Kinessa had seen on the road in. A group of children were sitting on the edge and chatting happily. Kinessa simply went to pass them, but once they had spotted her, she was quickly surrounded by children and questions.

 

“Where are you from?”

“You look strong!” 

“What’s in your bag?”

“Cute scarf!”

 

Kinessa was slightly surprised by the sudden attention, but chuckled at their curiosity, “hey, hey, maybe I’ll say hi if you stop suffocating me!” Most of the children backed off after this, but one of the taller boys quickly grabbed at her scarf tore it from her neck. Kinessa tensed up, “wait, no! Give that back!” She yelled, but it was no use, the children ran off laughing.

 

It didn’t take a lot for Kinessa to catch up with the boy who had her scarf, but he scrunched it into a ball and threw it to one of his friends further away. The next child was positioned next to the well, and when Kinessa turned her attention to him, he was dangling the scarf over the well. 

 

Kinessa felt her life flash before her eyes. That scarf was all she had.

 

————

 

_“Nessa!”_

_Happily bouncing into her room was Cassie, who had a smile on her face and a box in her hands. Zigs was perched on her shoulder and squawked as Cassie slightly tripped over a broken floorboard. Kinessa snorted watching her flail._

_“Where have you been? I missed you,” Kinessa asked, moving to give Cassie a space to sit on her bed. She sat down with a thud and crossed her legs, Zigs flew to perch on the desk in the room._

_“Weeeelll, we got up early to get fussy feathers over there some new food,” Cassie gestured over at Zigs, who refused to look in her direction, “he went off his usual food. Which he’s only had for a month, so I don’t get what his deal is.” Zigs responded to this in a squawk and Cassie rolled her eyes._

_Kinessa pointed at the box on the bed, “that’s not the bird food, is it?” She asked._

_Cassie smiled and spoke, “no, but while we were out I started browsing, like I do, and I got an idea of the perfect birthday gift for you!”  Kinessa raised an eyebrow._

_“You do know when my birthday is, right?” She asked, slightly concerned at the prospect of her closest friend forgetting her birthday._

_“Of course I do! Who do you take me for?” Cassie laughed, “buuuut, this is something which will improve your life whilst looking good! So I couldn’t wait until your birthday,” She tapped a tune on the top of the box and then pushed it towards Kinessa._

_“Depends, am I still getting something on my actual birthday?” Kinessa asked, picking up the box and shaking it like a child on Christmas Eve._

_“If you’re good,” Cassie responded, smirking, “now open it!”_

_Kinessa untied the rope on the top of the cardboard box and removed the lid. Inside sat a piece of bright orange fabric. She picked it up and felt it between her fingers, it was plush and thick. Kinessa stood up and unfurled it to its full length. “Oooh! A scarf!” She exclaimed._

_Cassie was beaming, “do you like it? You’ve been complaining for ages about your jacket not doing a good enough job blocking the wind, so I thought this would help. Also orange goes surprisingly good with camo!”_

_“I love it!” Kinessa looked over to a mirror on her wall and wrapped the scarf around her neck, “how do I look?” She turned to Cassie, who was staring at her with a smile. A silence fell as Cassie didn’t respond, “Cass?” Kinessa asked again._

_“Oh! Sorry,” Cassie broke her stare, a blush creeping up her neck, “it looks great on you!”_

_Kinessa sat back down on the bed and pulled Cassie into a hug, “thank you so much!” She said, slightly muffled in Cassie’s shoulder.   They sat in the hug for probably longer than necessary._

_————_

Eventually, Kinessa managed to get her scarf back. The children didn’t have the heart to throw her scarf in the well, and Kinessa scolded them afterwards, leaving them intimidated for life. She made sure her scarf was as tight as possible around her neck without actually strangling her, and went back to making her way through the town.

 

A sign peeking out from down a cobbled street indicated the location of an inn. She had been walking for a good few hours, so Kinessa figured it would be smart to get a room for the night. 

 

The inn had a rustic theme, judging from the outside. A pair of antlers hung above the door and a bell sounded once Kinessa walked in. Directly across from the door stood a young man behind a sturdy wooden desk, who promptly greeted his new customer and asked for details of her stay. Kinessa looked him up and down as he wrote in a book, he couldn’t be older than herself. 

 

“You look young, are you the owner of this place?” She questioned. The man looked up from his writing and smiled.

 

“Yes, ma’am! My parents said I was ’too rowdy’ for the family business, so they kicked me out at 15,” he spoke with a sad smile, “but I made my way here and built my own path! If you don’t mind me asking, what brings you here? You look a bit too military for this part of the country.” 

 

Kinessa propped her elbows up on the desk and rested her chin, “we’ve got similar stories, kid. But I wasn’t kicked out, I got frustrated and left.” 

 

The man looked concerned, “all on your own? What about your family?”

 

Kinessa shrugged her shoulders, “I think they understood,” she said softly.

 

————

 

_“Kinessa.”_

_That was the last thing she wanted to hear right now. Kinessa sighed and turned in the direction of the voice. Viktor emerged from the shadows into the soft candlelight near the main door. Kinessa tightened her grip around the bag strap over her shoulder. She didn’t want to run into anyone at this moment, but life always found a way._

_“You’re finally leaving, huh?” Viktor spoke, walking closer to her._

_Kinessa sighed, “just please, don’t tell Strix until I’m gone.” Although she had made up her mind weeks ago, nothing made it any easier. She was scared and angry and relieved. She knew it would be easier soon._

_“It wouldn’t make much difference, he’ll be heartbroken either way,” Viktor’s voice was close to a whisper, Kinessa could barely look at him._

_“Look, I don’t want you to try and-“_

_“I won’t stop you. You’ve obviously thought about this and I wouldn’t take this away from you,” Viktor gave her a weak smile, “you’re stronger than you think you are. You’re going to do amazing things,” he put his hand on Kinessa’s shoulder briefly. He changed the subject, “does Cassie know you’re going tonight?”_

_Kinessa’s eyes reflected sadness, “yeah, we’ve talked. It was best for both of us if she didn’t watch me leave,” she paused, “but if you could tell her one more thing, tell her I… No, never mind.” She ran her hand through her hair, Cassie had cut it only recently._

_Viktor came close to cup her face in his hands, “I’ll let you go now, but I want you to remember that you will always have a home here,” tears began forming in his eyes, “no matter how far you go or how much trouble you get yourself in. We love you, okay?”_

_Seeing Viktor tearing up caused Kinessa to choke up as well, she avoided his gaze and nodded stiffly, saying a weak thank you before giving him a one armed hug. When she felt like she was beginning to cry, she left the hug and turned for the door, she looked back once more at Viktor. He was smiling the best he could._

_Kinessa softly shut the door behind her and headed into the unknown._

_————_

 

The beds in the inn were incredibly comfortable, a nice change from what Kinessa had slept in prior. She made a mental note to tip the owner. It was quickly evident that her muscles had badly needed some rest, her legs ached and sank into the bed like bricks. Kinessa almost wanted to fall asleep, but it was only the late afternoon, and that would seriously mess up any sleep schedule she had. 

 

Instead, she stared at the table at the other side of the room where she had put her bag and rifle. She had been planning to deep clean it soon. Also on the table was one of the orange flowers she had picked earlier. Even after being stuffed in her bag, it looked full and vibrant. 

 

Although her body felt heavy, Kinessa stood up and walked towards the flower. She picked it up and twirled it in her fingers. It’d been crushed and torn from its root, but here it remained, being held by a bounty hunter with a strangely similar story. Kinessa continued carrying it as she walked to the window, the sun had begun its descent.

 

Kinessa tucked the flower behind her ear and her smile beamed brighter than the current sun.

 

Freedom looked good on her.


End file.
